Piper PA-28-181 incident near Juneau, Alaska, August 26, 1995
On August 26, 1995 at about 5:45 pm local time, a Piper PA-28-181, registered N2937X, suffered minor damage in an incident near Juneau, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
failure and separation of the propeller blade due to foreign object damage and fatigue.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 26, 1995 · about 5:45 pm local time
- Place
- Juneau, Alaska · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-28-181 · all PA-28-181s on the register
- Registration
- N2937X · registry record · serial 28-7990567
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Just after takeoff the airplane began to vibrate. The pilot reduced the power and returned for an immediate landing. Examination showed that 6 inches of one blade had separated from the propeller. The separated piece was recovered, and metallurgical examination showed that the blade separated due to a fatigue crack emanating from a gouge associated with foreign object damage. The propeller blade material met the material and hardness specifications as prescribed by the manufacturer.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,733 hours in all; 150 in this make and model; 172 in the last 90 days; 91 in the last 30 days; 2,633 as pilot in command; 520 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,364 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 21, 1995; 15 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: JNU AK at 12:45 pm
- Destination: GST Gustavus AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 99 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC95IA151.